FILMS OF BRITAIN 1939–1950

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The Films of Britain series consists of seven booklets, produced between 1939 and 1950. Initially describing itself simply as ‘A List of Documentary Films’, they are produced by TIDA and the British Council Film Department and detail the contents of a variety of documentary films, including those produced by TIDA and the British Council. It appears that the films listed in each catalogue, though not necessarily produced or sponsored by TIDA or the British Council, are the titles that they were distributing or circulating at the time of printing.

The 1939 catalogue was produced by TIDA’s Film Department, with no mention of the British Council. It may thus be assumed that it was published before the outbreak of World War 2, and the department’s absorption into the British Council’s Film Department. Interestingly, though the 1940 edition says that it was produced by the British Council Film Department, the cover features a motif used by TIDA – a ‘Lion of England’ (a possibly crowned

Philip GuedallaChairman, Film Committee‘
Introduction to Films of Britain 1941

[1] A lion of this type wearing a crown is a symbol of the English royalty. TIDA had the patronage of H.M. King George VI in the mid-thirties. It might be that TIDA wished to promote this fact through the use of such a motif, but chose to make the ‘crown’ ambiguous in the image to avoid potential issues that might arise from their use of the symbol.